(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system, and especially to an image processing system that can achieve a good balance between security protection and a user's convenience in a case of pull print.
(2) Related Art
In recent years, a network printer has been widely used, and the following method of using the network printer has become common. In an office environment, a plurality of multifunction peripherals (MFP) are connected to a network in order to print document data and the like that is made by and transmitted from a personal computer (PC). In this case, if a user tries to print a document in an unfamiliar office environment such as a business trip destination, the user's convenience is reduced because it is difficult to judge to which of a plurality of multifunction peripherals should the user transmit document data of the document.
Therefore, the following image forming system is proposed. After each of a plurality of multifunction peripherals receives document data via a printer server, only a multifunction peripheral that receives an instruction of a print execution directly from a user can print a document of the document data. When any of the plurality of multifunction peripherals receives the instruction of the print execution, the other multifunction peripherals delete the received document data. This construction can avoid the following unexpected situations. If the user cannot recognize which multifunction peripheral executed printing, a printed matter may be lost, or if a third party finds the printed matter, information of the printed matter may be leaked. The following references disclose the above-mentioned construction.    Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-244836    Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2005-100261    Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2001-216116
However, if document data is transmitted to each of a plurality of multifunction peripherals, it could cause a leak of information especially when a user prints a document in an unfamiliar office environment.
Also, when a user instructs any of a plurality of multifunction peripherals to execute printing, if the printing fails because of a failure of the multifunction peripheral, the user has to request the printing in a personal computer again. Therefore, this is unsuitable for the user's convenience.